The reshuffle in the Modi cabinet
has led to quite a few new ministers taking charge of new departments. A closely
watched department in the current backdrop was the Ministry of Health hitherto
headed by Dr. Harshvardhan who was dropped from the Cabinet. He was replaced by
Mansukh Mandaviya who found himself promoted from the Minster of State rank to
the Cabinet rank. The limousine liberals who are more than eager to find flaws
dug up an old tweet of Mandaviya on Gandhi and used this to begin mocking the
English of the Minister. It is possible that the Minister is not well versed in
English with perhaps his studies being in Gujarati. The language of English
might hardly matter in his work but the fact he cannot speak English is a
reason good enough to be mocked at and be questioned about the fitness to be a minister.
This brings to the fore the question
whether the language becomes critical in terms of being a minister at the
centre or the states. In more precise terms, it is the command over English
that seems to matter to the wine tasting liberals. The fact that a subaltern
could occupy a post is something that cannot be fathomed more so if the same
happened to be from the BJP. It did not matter to them that Laloo Prasad Yadav
was hardly qualified to speak Queen’s English but as long as he was favoring
the liberals they were okay with the same. The amount of scorn and sarcasm that
seemed to be heaved upon Mandaviya is itself reflective of the barriers of
entry into elite Lutyen’s club. It is no doubt that command over English or Hindi
is a pre-requisite for succeeding in Delhi. One can recall at least two
political leaders from Karnataka late Babagouda Patil and late Siddu
Nyamagoudar who both failed at the centre perhaps for the lack of command on
the language. It was not they were incompetent but simply could not express
themselves in either English or Hindi and thus had to pay a price.
It must be stressed that political success
as much as business success or for that matter any other domain is independent of
the language. There has to be good communication yet that does not
automatically translate into good English or for that matter Hindi
communication. One of the veteran Indian leaders Kamaraj was semi-literate who
barely knew a word of English or Hindi, yet he was the king-maker in the
selection of two Prime Ministers in independent India. The language was never a
barrier for him to put across his views at the Centre. If it was English that
mattered, countries that hardly spoke English would never have succeeded. China
or Japan or for that matter France, Germany or Korea all became economic powers
without the knowledge of English. Their advancements in science and technology
too are impressive with India lagging far behind. In fact, India’s success is
in the lower echelons of the value chain for all the competency in English that
seems to stress upon.
Therefore, it begs to be answered on
the near indispensability of English as factor for success. The reasons have to
do with the elitist structures created in the country. To the elite, there are
certain attributes that one must possess in order to be the member of the club.
It is natural that education in top premier college preferably abroad and
command over English is something pre-requisite. The elite have a fort to hold
on to. Their success over generations rest on their ability to keep the
structure small and confined to the few. There must exist barriers of entry
that would ensure the outsiders would not get an entry thus threatening their
existence not merely for the current generation but their progeny as well. Therefore,
they would seek to go miles to create barriers that would seek to destroy any
claimant to their hegemony. The Khan Market gang is closely knit and perhaps
related through familial relations. They have acquired a stranglehold over the
narrative over a period of time and thus their noise is something that is heard
over long distances. This is the noise that seek to leverage in their pursuit
to hold on to their monopoly.
They have developed an ecosystem that
has flourished under the Congress rule. Therefore, anyone coopted by the
Congress in all probability will be absorbed by them. While they seek to
maintain their monopoly they also need to demonstrate they have subaltern
voices within them. They need to create an official subaltern so as to speak. Therefore,
the likes of Laloo Yadav will become a part of their narrative and thus
tolerated. One of the attributes is essentially flagellating Hinduism,
something relic of the British and the Islamic past. The post-independent India
in its pursuit to embrace modernity sought to put the blame on the alleged
regressive Hindu practices. This narrative is something wholeheartedly embraced
by this elite. Therefore, the ecosystem of the BJP is something that they
cannot accept. Thus all the more reason exists for them to come down on the BJP
establishment.
English communication might not be
critical factor in achievement of power and prosperity yet it is a factor that
is a crucible in the admission to the elite establishment the Indians have
built upon the colonial legacy. The elite in India is a continuation of the
colonial elite system with a new system of brown sahibs replacing the white
sahibs with their own enjoyment of Veblen goods. The current establishment is
seeking to dethrone the elite as existent today. Given their existential
struggle so as to speak, they are waging a rearguard battle. Their competencies
perhaps lie in noise and that has mattered rather than the signal. The outbursts
and mocking of Mansukh Mandaviya is an outcome of the same. He is not the first
one to be at the receiving end neither he would be the last one. Yet, while
they might seek solace in creating a narrative against the subaltern speakers,
it must be mentioned that the broader narrative is turning against them and new
Indian elite is on the way up.
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